Remote collaboration in real-time between individuals and groups has evolved from simple individual/conference telephone calls and more complex videoconferencing to the more realistic environment of telepresence. The content of a telephone call is limited to audio content while the content of a videoconference can combine both audio and video, thereby providing the capability to provide more information more clearly and more rapidly. For a more realistic impression, however, neither can approach that of the more recent developments in telepresence.
These developments in telepresence provide the ability for multiple participants to share a virtual environment and to interact with each other in real-time via an avatar associated with each individual. An avatar is a representation of one of the participants in the shared environment. Each participant can have a view into this virtual shared environment from their communication device which could be a personal computer, a handset, a telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. Each participant sees on his/her screen essentially a virtual room within which there are other participants who are each represented by their own avatar. An avatar could be a three-dimensional partial body or full body representation of the participant, or it could be something as simple as a small video screen (a video avatar) with the image of the participant on it inserted into the scene. If a participant is represented by a video avatar, the participant can communicate with other participants via visual and audio transmissions from the participant. On the other hand, a full body avatar can point to objects created in the virtual environment and move around within it, thus, providing a more realistic experience for the participants which can be further enhanced by implementing the full body avatar as a three-dimensional avatar.
Thus, it is now possible to hold meetings that include remotely located participants that provide the participants the impression, at least to some degree, of being in the same room and even sitting at the same table. Such meetings could include, for example, those between a project development team involving engineers and managers located in several different countries. Or, it could include a team of fire, police, and other personnel assembled to respond to a large chemical fire, a terrorist attack, or other emergency.